masked women minab iran

Masked Women of Minab Market

Panjshambe Bazaar - Iran

The Minab market is a unique mix – even to my well-traveled eyes.

It’s the way women dress: colorful hijab scarves or black chador cloaks, yet more intriguing are their bird-like masks.

VIDEO: Masked women of Minab market


These masks originate from Arabia.

It’s said Arabian women adopted them to thwart the advances of Portuguese slave traders some centuries ago.

Mural of masked women on streets of Minab in southern Iran
Mural of masked women on streets of Minab in southern Iran.

And it’s this attire – along with the different ethnic faces, which reveals something of Minab’s history; once a trade hub on a route linking Iran (Persia) with Arabia, Pakistan, and Africa.


They hold the weekly market in Minab every Thursday


masked woman of Iran

The “Panjshambe Bazaar” attracts people from all over the Hormozgan region of southern Iran.

Languages spoken include a Minabi dialect of Farsi, alongside Arabic and Urdu.

Iranian women with baby in Minab
These women wanted a photo of the baby only until I showed them the image on camera. Amazed – by technology, they then posed for me, giggling, enjoying the attention of onlookers. Everyone bewildered by this “event”.

The women of Minab market are the attraction


elderly masked woman with traditional hookah smoking pipe in Iran
Wandering the market, I encountered friendly faces (and many shy and surprised ones too). But this woman was the brightest star. Not only to did she allow me to photograph her, she also offered me a puff on her pipe. Which I accepted; she was smoking tobacco.

Photographing people in conservative Islamic societies is often difficult. (Likewise, tribal Africa and indigenous Andean cultures).

masked women vendor minab market iran

Many remain wary of cameras at the market.

So be discreet from a distance or ask people if they are the direct subject / focus of your photo.

masked women in colorful Minab market Iran
Colors blend at Minab Market – you can barley spot the woman.

And being a foreign male in an Islamic country (and without a local fixer) means the best photos are never taken.

masked woman of Minab market in Iran

I shoot discreetly in public places but ask permission for conventional portraits.

Thursday market in Minab

When asked by local folks why I photograph, I answer. I am not a professional. I won’t sell your image.

Women with shopping leave the Minab Market
Masked women with shopping leave the Minab Market.

The aim of my photos – hobby aside – is to take pictures to counter my fading memories. And also to share my travels with other people. That’s you, readers.

Travels in Iran – 2011

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